The
Nilgiri tahr was first named Kemas hylocrius by Ogilby (1838). In 1845
Gray re-christened the Nilgiri tahr as Capra warryato. This was
subsequently changed to Kemas warryato in 1852 (Lydekker, 1913). Warryato
is an English rendition of the Tamil term for the Nilgiri tahr. In 1859 Blyth
included the Nilgiri tahr in the genus Hemitragus, naming it H. hylocrius (Lydekker, 1913).The current view is that there are three species of
tahr, the
Himalayan tahr (Hemitragus jemlahicus), the Nilgiri tahr (Nilgiritragus
hylocrius), and the Arabian tahr- (Arabitragus jayakari). There is
some variation in the spelling of the English name for this genus; it appears
both as "tahr" and "thar". Both are an Anglicized form of
the Nepali term for serow (Capricornis sumatraensis; Green, 1978). "tahr"
is now the accepted spelling for the Himalayan species, Nilgiri species
and the Arabian species. However, English speaking South Indians also use the
term "ibex" or "Nilgiri ibex". The Tamil name for Nilgiri
tahr is "varai ad" or "varai adoo" which translates to
"cliff goat". The comparable Malayalam term is "mala adu"
(Prater, 1965). Interestingly, Ogilby (1838) based the original name for Nilgiri
tahr, (Kemas hylocrius) on the understanding that it's local name was
"jungle sheep" (jungle or wood corresponding to the root "hyla"
and the Greek "krios" which means ram). However, in the English
speaking community in the High Range, "jungle sheep" refers to the
barking deer (Muntiacus muntjak), whereas "ibex" is the
longstanding name for Nilgiri tahr (Jerdon, 1874; Fletcher, 1911). Gray's (1842)
"warryato" is a much more appropriate name, but Ogilby's (1838)
remains as the standard one by rules of precedence( Rice 1984).

Nilgiri
tahr is anendangered
mountain ungulate listed in schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act
1972 and considered as endangered by the IUCN. The
species was assessed as endangered using the 1994 Red List Categories and Criteria as EN B1+2acd, C2a on 6/30/2000 (Assessors:CAMP
Workshop, India). In the 2008 Redlist also the species was assessed as endangered.(
Assessors:Alembath, M. & Rice, C.G, Evaluators Harris, R. &
Festa-Bianchet, M. (Caprinae Red List Authority) ).

The
other two tahrs are, the Himalayan tahrHemitragus jemlahicus, found from
Kashmir to Bhutan (Schaller, 1971)and the Arabian tahr Arabitragus jayakari, which is
confined to the mountain district

of
Oman and adjoining rocky slopes of Hajar mountains
in United Arab Emirates

Synonyms
of Nilgiri tahr

Kemas hylocrius
(Ogilby, 1837)

Capra warrayato (Gray,
1842)

Kemas warrayato
(Gray,1852)

Hemitragus hylocrius
(Ogilby, 1838)

Common
Names

Nilgiri Tahr

Varayadu
(Malayalam)

Varaiaadu
(Tamil)

Tahr
des monts Nilgiri ( French) Rice,
1990

Nilgiritahr(German)
Rice, 1990

Intiantari
( Finnish)

Range
size:

Area of occupancy- (pre-colonial) 4000-5000km2

Extent of occurrence-(present) 400-500km2

Elevation:

Upper limit - 2695mt (Anaimudi)

Lower limit (present)- 600mt.

(past)- 300mt.

Population
Estimations

1000
(Schaller,1970)

2200
(Davidar,1978)

2234 (Rice,1984)

2500
(Shackleton.1997)

1950 (Daniels et
al., 2006).

2600-
Min (Easa et
al., 2010).

3000-
Min ( WWF India, 2015)

Reported Measurements of Nilgiri Tahr

Sourceof Information

Adult
Weight

HeightAt Shoulder

LengthofTail

Lydekker,1913

99-107
cm

Prater,1971

100-110
cm

Wilson

,1980

101.8
kg (M)
53.4 kg (F)

Alembath,1982

100kg(M)

60kg(F)

110cm(M)

75cm(F)

10-15cm

Rice,1990

100
kg (M)
50 kg (F)

110
cm (M)
80 cm (F)

10-15
cm

Nowak,1991

50-100
kg

61-106
cm

9-12
cm

Robinson

,2005

80-100kg(M)
50 kg (F)

Food plants of the Nilgiri Tahr (Rice, 1984)

Species

Family

Habit

Ranunculus
reniformis

Ranunculaceae

Herb

Polygala
sibrica

Polygalaceae

Herb

Hypericum
mysorense

Hypericaceae

Shrub

Eurya
japonica

Ternstroemiaceae

Shrub/Tree

Impatiens
tomentosa

Balsaminaceae

Herb

Crotalaria
fysonii

Fabaceae

Herb

Crotalaria
scabrella

Fabaceae

Herb

Oldenlandia
swertioides

Rubiaceae

Herb

Anaphalis
bournei

Compositae

Herb

Anaphalis
lawii

Compositae

Herb

Eupatorium
adenophorum

Compositae

Herb

Lactuca
hastate

Compositae

Herb

Wahlenbergia
gracilis

Campanulaceae

Herb

Lobelia
sp

Campanulaceae

Herb

Vaccinum
leschenaultia

Vaccinaceae

Herb

Gaultheria
fragrantissima

Ericaceae

Shrub

Pedicularis
perrottetii

Scrophulariaceae

Herb

Sopubia
trifida

Scrophulariaceae

Herb

Strobilanthes
kunthianus

Acanthaceae

Shrub

Polygonum
chinense

Polygonaceae

Herb

Elaeagnus
kologa

Elaeagnaceae

Herb

Curculigo
orchioides

Amaryllidaceae

Herb

Cyanotis
sp

Commelinaceae

Herb

Eriocaulon
brownianum

Eriocaulaceae

Herb

Carex
lindleyana

Cyperaceae

Sedge

Sehima
nervosum

Poaceae

Grass

Chrysopogon
zeylanicus

Poaceae

Grass

Tripogon
bromoides

Poaceae

Grass

Tripogon
ananthaswamianus

Poaceae

Grass

Ischaemum
indicum

Poaceae

Grass

Arundinella
mesophylla

Poaceae

Grass

Arundinella
fuscata

Poaceae

grass

Agrostis
peninsularis

Poaceae

Grass

Andropogon
polyptychus

Poaceae

Grass

Andropogon
lividus

Poaceae

Grass

Themeda
quadrivalvis

Poaceae

Grass

Themeda
triandra

Poaceae

Grass

Isachne
bourneorum

Poaceae

Grass

The Nilgiri tahr has
short grey-brown or dark coat. There are facial markings, particularly
distinct in mature males, consisting of a dark brown muzzle separated from a
dark cheek by a white stripe running down from the base of horns. Females and
immature males are an overall yellowish-brown to grey, with the underparts
being paler (Lydekker, 1913; Prater, 1971; Rice, 1988; Nowak,
1991). Adult males weigh atound 100Kg and stands at 110 Cm at shoulder
height. Adult females weigh at 50 Kg and stands at 80 Cms at shoulder height
(Rice, 1990). Females have two nipples, unlike the two other species of tahr
which have four (Nowak, 1991). Both sexes of N. hylocrius bear relatively short curving horns. An estimated 2000 of the species exist in
the wild. Older males a are called Saddlebacks as they
have a distinctive silvery saddle-patch marks on the rump. The horns of
females are shorter and slenderer.The main breeding season (rut) of wild
Nilgiri tahr is from June to August during the monsoons (Rice, 1990; Robinson,
2005). Conception is for a period of 6 months. Peak in births occutr in
January and February. New born tahr is called a Kid. By two months of age the
kid follows its mother (Wilson, 1980) but they are not weaned until four
to six months (Wilson, 1980; Rice, 1990). Sexual maturity occurs around
16 months (Wilson, 1980; Rice, 1990).Average life expectancy for Nilgiri tahr
in the wild is estimated to be only three or 3.5 years, although the potential
life span is at least 9 years (Rice, 1988; Rice,
1990). Annual
mortality at Eravikulam NP was estimated to be 44–52% for young, 31–37%
for yearlings, and 17–24% for adults. Life expectancy at birth was
estimated at 3–3·5 years. There was evidence for mortality incurred by
predation, disease, accidents, and injury during intraspecific combat, and
thermal stress.((Rice, 1988)

The primary modes
of Communication
are visual, acoustic and chemical. Other modes of communications are pheromones
and scent marks. Perceptions channels are tactile, acoustic and chemical.

The Nilgiri Tahr
(Nilgiritragus hylocrius) is the only species of Caprine ungulate that is
found south of the Himalayas in India. The eleven other species of Indian
Caprine ungulates are confined to the Himalayan biogeographical zones. The Nilgiri Tahr presently occurs patchily over a short
400km stretch of the southern Western Ghats that spans the high altitude plateau
of the Nilgiris and the hills of the Kanyakumari district; the total area of
which is a mere 5% of the entire Western Ghats region.

The reason for the
rather local distribution of the Tahr is its preference for a habitat that is
predominantly of grasslands adequately sheltered by steep rocky cliffs; a unique
habitat type that has rightly given the species the local name Varai Aadu (= Cliff Goat). These grasslands receive not less than 1500mm of rainfall
annually and enjoy a short dry season and as such are restricted to just 7 high
altitude landscapes (1200-2600m ASL) in the southern Western Ghats.

Having been exterminated from the northernmost Tahr landscape, the high
altitude grasslands of southwestern Karnataka during the past 50 years, the Tahr
is at present found only within 6 high altitude landscapes. And within these 6
landscapes, 18 localities have sustained small to large populations that vary in
size between 20 and 550 animals. Estimates made at various times during the past
30 years placed the population size of the Nilgiri Tahr between 2000 and 2500
over its entire range.

It is evident that the
Nilgiri Tahr had reached the brink of extinction sometime during the latter half
of the 19th century. Early interventions by the erstwhile Nilgiri
Game Association and High Range Game Association and modern conservation
initiatives guided by the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972 have aided a
rather dramatic comeback of the species in less than 150 years.